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Not Your (Grand)Parents’ Dream Job

Working toward a career goal in entertainment comes with a lot of baggage. Movies depict a certain sequence of events, ads promise a kind of instant gratification, and our elders say they were able to work their way up the ladder, buy a house, pay for college for the kids and retire. Never mind that movies aren’t real, that ads are intended to manipulate (at worst) and influence (at best) our spending habits, and that the jobs our elders had no longer exist. In spite of widespread understanding of these facts, our careers are still prodded and picked at by well-meaning friends, family, and even other creative professionals. The unspoken assumption is that there is a correct way to build a career and that if you do it that way then you will predictably meet a series of milestones on your course of upward growth.

Maybe there was a golden era of the American workplace in which upward growth was essentially frictionless. My grandfather started at IBM in the 1960s as a computer engineer and worked for 30 years, during which time he bought a house, supported a family of four, put two children through four-year college programs, saved for retirement, and had access to legitimate health benefits. It wasn’t easy, but his job did make it all possible.

My grandparents on my dad’s side, 1982, on the last day of their first international trip. Their oldest child (my dad) had just graduated from college, a state school which they were able to pay for, and their youngest was 15 and stayed with her grandmother. This was the first of many trips they have taken over the years since their kids have grown up.

The people I know whose careers fell on a similar timeline to his have similar experiences. But the years before this “gold era” were similar to how things are now: people with socio-economic advantages are able to move upward at a fairly rapid pace, and everyone without socio-economic advantages is able to exercise upward mobility only after figuring out how to catch up. The college student with a job that pays her rent does not have access to the same opportunities as her classmate whose rent is paid by his parents so he can attend an unpaid internship for a semester.

I mention this because we now live in a free labor economy. Companies and individuals in power positions have a bad habit of bullying workers for free labor, even when it’s technically illegal. Perhaps this fear mechanism was born out of the crash of 2008 (when many of the people in power positions were still in college), or perhaps we are becoming exponentially shameless in our power hunger, with each passing year putting greater distance between the richest and poorest among us and more attention is given to the loudest people with the greatest number of followers. It is money and popularity, not skills and experience, that are winning in the job market right now.

So what can we do to combat this?

Prioritize fair pay in your business. Even if you are relying on the generosity of a friend at the moment, make it a priority to pay them what their work is worth as soon as you are able to.

Name your price and back it up. I hope you never have to experience someone in the music business bullying you, but it can happen to anyone. Someone will tell you that they can get someone else to do it for free. Often this is just a negotiation tactic. You’re worth more than nothing, so make a case for you over this imaginary free laborer. (One exception to this rule is when you are being generous to a friend!)

When money is tight, consider an exchange of skills instead. Are you an audio engineer who wants production experience? The more that you develop your skills the more bartering power you will have when you want to acquire new ones.

Jordan Cantor engineering and I producing at Killphonic Studios in Los Angeles last year. We are in our second year of her engineering me in exchange for me engineering her.

Communicate. This is very important. Your communication style will be different from other peoples’, and will likely evolve over time. You want to be as clear as possible. With experience, you’ll be able to read situations quickly and avoid problems before they become too big to solve.

Decide what your values as a business owner (and/or colleague) are, and resolve to never be lazy about upholding them. If someone you work with is not meeting those standards, don’t be afraid to talk about it and challenge them to do better. (The flip side of this is, obviously, that you must live by these standards as well!)

It is my hope that through the shifting tides of our current economy, we develop new and effective ways to uphold fair business practices. I’m always curious to hear from others about their experiences doing this (positive and negative), so please feel free to leave comments or email your stories to me at elanabellecarroll@gmail.com!

Killphonic Studios

Staying Tough & Moving Sideways

If we are lucky, both our careers and ourselves will change and grow for the better. Life has a funny way of evolving and taking us on a different path than we might have ever expected. When I reflect on the dreams I had as a teenager, for example, there have been some that were smashed and excitedly crossed off the bucket list, and others that teenage me could never have foreseen from a reminiscent time of analogue study and scoring notation by pencil.

Working in most industries, but particularly music comes with its share of setbacks and rejection as par for the course, and we learn early on to be thick-skinned and roll with the punches. Some years I’ve been fulfilling my teenage and adult dreams, whilst others I’ve felt like I have been starring in a low-budget female remake of ‘Withnail & I.’ Jobs, people and projects come and go naturally, and stagnation is a dirty word. But what do we do when making a change feels like it’s out of our hands, and has been forced upon us?

 

Through a very dark, frustrating and seemingly endless limbo period of fruitless auditions and interviews following illness, injury and the subsequent closure of my business, I lacked an obvious answer to the question of what to do next. During this time, I was aware of a steady stream of media that kept bombarding me online, on TV and radio about Rick Allen, drummer of Def Leppard. Here was a man who overcame the most unthinkable adversity losing his left arm in an accident aged just 21, who personified the qualities of strength, adaptability and creativity to find a solution and continue working as a drummer in a mere matter of weeks following his hospital release, and become even more successful in the years that followed.

We can gain both perspective and a reminder that things are not as hopeless as they seem when we look at the success stories of inspirational people such as Allen and can resolve to model the qualities they possess in attitude and action.

Aristotle’s Golden Mean is a theory relating to character and discipline of the mind that highlights a need for balance in whatever we strive for. We all have needs to be met as individuals that will be relative to each of us. Aristotle proposed that equilibrium in our actions and reactions was the path to virtue and that this is found on a sliding scale between two vices, e.g., between cowardice and foolhardiness. Similarly, ‘The Middle Way’ is a Buddhist practice of ‘non-extremism that leads to liberation,’ an ideal of ‘bravely confronting life’s challenges by identifying the root causes and seeking means of resolution while summoning the transformative strength and wisdom of Buddhahood from within one’s life to create harmony.’ Put very simply; these ideals remind us of the importance of knowing when to yield and when to take action, learning to accept the things we cannot change and change the things we cannot accept.

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and so it’s up to us to find comfort and a Plan B that feels right, and sometimes we must move sideways to move forward. In reality, then, we must embrace change in whatever form when it befalls us, and look at what existing skills we have that can be improved, honed and adapted to work for our futures.

Often a different area of expertise is not a million miles away, however much it may feel so whilst in the midst of watching a previous life crumble. The difficulty can be figuring out exactly what we do next, as we embark on the uncertain tightrope of virtuous equilibrium, shakily imitating the monks, great minds and super-humans who’ve gone before us.

Business gurus and industry experts are unanimous that research/asking for guidance is one of the most important parts of building anew. Had Rick Allen not asked for help from his friend involved with an electronics business, his bespoke adapted drum kit may never have come into being, and the story may have been a very different one. Chances are, there’s a plethora of friends, colleagues, and acquaintances from previous work that are an untapped potential of alliances sitting in your smartphone right now.  Set up that meeting to pick their brains over coffee, start shadowing and get informed – this is as useful for finding what doesn’t work as much as what does, and often chatting through ideas and experiences will be invaluable to planning your next move.

The second point of monophony from experts is that great things sometimes take time. There’s no shame in taking a break to work behind the scenes making things happen, whether that be retraining or attaining the funds and proficiency to set up a new business model. Nobody wants to launch a sub-standard product or service, so the cliché of building on a solid foundation rings true, and the world can wait until all the kinks have been ironed out, and the new venture is a strong one.

Ultimately, the only thing we can control in life our thoughts, so it is important to take inspiration and learn from those who have examined the parameters of happiness and our human potential. Unexpected changes are inevitable for us all at some point. With a hopeful mindset, a balanced attitude and the determination to work towards a clear, well-planned goal, alchemy can and does happen.

 

 

 

Interview with Engineer & Producer Missy Thangs

Missy Thangs is an engineer, producer, songwriter, and keyboardist based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Thangs is currently a house engineer and producer at The Fidelitorium, an amazing and unique studio (complete with guest house!) located in Kernersville, NC, about 90 miles west of Raleigh. Throughout her career, Missy has had the opportunity to work with bands like The Avett Brothers, Ex Hex, Ian McLagan (Small Faces), The Tills, Las Rosas, and Skemäta. Thangs has been a prominent member of the Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill (aka The Triangle) music community since the early 2000s, having performed with The Love Language, Toddlers, No One Mind, and Birds of Avalon. Missy has helped shape the sound coming out of the region not only through her songwriting and musicianship abilities but also from the sound she has crafted in production roles.

What first opened you up to the idea of becoming a recording engineer?

I grew up around pop music; my dad is a pop music freak. He had thousands of CDs and records and was way into MTV when it first came out. There was always music on, and my dad’s happiness was sort of funneled through music, so it was such a part of growing up. He was my informer. He was playing everything from Weird Al Yankovic, to DEVO, to Bowie, to Melissa Etheridge — non-discriminating. If it was a good song, had a good melody, and sounded good, he was all about it, and I think I got a lot of that from him.

I think on a real deep psychological level I’m trying to recreate that feeling. Hearing and making sounds that are exciting and make you feel really good. Often those sounds are big and colorful or raw; those are the things that stand out in my memory. So, it wasn’t listening to music from the perspective of how it was recorded; it was more the way music made me feel that got me into the recording aspect of it.

I hadn’t considered recording as a career until I was in college. I was studying meteorology and French at UNC Asheville and looking for something more. I came across the Recording Arts Program, and I remember looking at the course catalog and feeling like it resonated with me. I was like, “What have I been doing?” I want to be in music, and I want to record music, and so I just jumped into that program.

What was your program like at school at that time? Were you learning ProTools at all?

The program was really small; I was the only woman in my graduating class of 25. We started out on an old Tascam 24-track tape machine and an ADAT machine; then we got the first ProTools in maybe 2000 or 2001, which was the start of working on DAWs for me. As soon as we got ProTools, I was like, “Great!” I didn’t use tape or ADAT at all after that. I instantly felt familiar with and comfortable on the computer.

At that point, had you recorded at all as a musician in the studio, or did you just dive in once you started school?

No, it wasn’t until after I was in the program that I started meeting a lot of other musicians. I started playing in a band called Piedmont Charisma, and that was when I had my first recording experience as a musician. We recorded at a super small space in downtown Asheville. It wasn’t around for very much longer after we recorded there. This was before Echo Mountain was in town and there wasn’t much in terms of recording studios. In school we went to a CD processing plant, we got to visit Bob Moog before he passed away, and we went to a voice-over recording studio, but I hadn’t seen a real sexy recording environment ever, and I was like, “What am I going to do?”

It makes sense that you decided to pursue music for a while if you didn’t quite have the resources to jump into something immediately.

That’s right. I was self-taught in recording up until college, and I didn’t have a really strong relationship with any of my professors, so I was kind of on my own, trying to figure out how to get good sounds and how to run a session. I had some friends and colleagues I had made along the way to bounce ideas off of, but I wish I had sought a mentor or someone to talk to. The idea never really crossed my mind.

You moved to the Triangle after school and gradually started playing in more and more bands, and as your career took off, you had the opportunity to record in bigger studios. Was there anything that you took away from your time as a musician in the studio at that time that you think about now when you’re engineering?

Definitely. My abilities to empathize with how the musicians feel and how to anticipate their needs are tuned in, and I think that is everything. For example, I can understand the feeling of having a bad headphone mix, an inner-band conflict, or not being able to get the right take. My past experiences inform the way I handle all those things.

I think it’s so important to be a recording engineer and also be on the other side of the glass. Sometimes you forget what it’s like to get that nervous feeling while in the band; everyone’s staring at you from the other room, waiting for you to get the right take. It’s a good reminder of how to be while you’re leading a session and how to treat the people you’re working with.

Making a record with people is such a vulnerable experience. It’s so essential for the vibe to be dialed in and everyone to be as close to the same page as possible.

Yeah, everything about this job is about people and vibe. When you are working with a group of people or one artist you are constantly picking up cues on their mood and working with that information and trying to get the best out of them. That’s so much of our job! From bringing people a cup of tea or telling everybody to take a break. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, but the musicians don’t need to know that; it’s not what they’re there for.

You work with a lot of bands at the Fidelitorium doing live-tracking sessions, do you think this is due to your experience of the music you listened to growing up or the bands you’ve played in, is it the nature of the studio, or a combination?

The community that I live in and play in is so intermingled. Everyone is in everyone else’s bands and supports each other, and a lot of people in this community are just here playing music because it’s our lives and it’s what we want to do. My network has sort of facilitated my sound in a way. A lot of people that I’m working with I know personally, and we’ve only got three days, and it’s a five-piece band, and they have a small budget, so we have to make it work. What’s happened as a result of it is that I’ve sort of cultivated this sound for fast-moving sessions. It’s like; you’ve got to track live because we don’t have time to do it any other way!

Then again, the studio does play into that because The Fidelitorium has a large, wonderful sounding room and you can get easily full band in there. There are also a ton of opportunities for isolation so you can get everybody in the space comfortably. It allows me to work quickly when I need to.

What’s happening to me is that my friends, or friends of friends, are hearing a record I did and are reaching out and saying, “Hey I like what you did with this band, we want that sound.” And the way I got that sound was with a quick turnaround live-tracking session. I’ve dabbled in lots of different genres and recording styles, but that’s sort of what I’m doing right now.

It seems like work has been consistently finding you then, which is a positive thing! Do you ever find yourself having to look for work or grow your network in that way? What is that process like for you?

I’m pretty shy; it’s really a lot of word of mouth. There have been one or two bands that I’ve gone up to and been like, “I want to record your band!” But, word of mouth is really everything. A lot of my clients come to me because they’ve heard really great things about other friends’ experiences, and their friends come to me and take a chance with me. It’s really humbling, and a lot of times I can’t believe it. I’ve been really lucky so far, at some point I think I’m going to have to step out of my comfort zone and figure out how to reach new people!

You are now a house engineer at the Fidelitorium, owned by musician and engineer Mitch Easter (REM, Game Theory, Let’s Active). Are you alone a lot in the studio or do you have opportunities where you’re learning directly from Mitch?     

Mitch has been my one true mentor. He took me in when I was really down on the industry and taught me what he knows and let me go. I go to him often with questions, and he usually Mr. Miyagi’s me, but every once in a while he offers me some direct advice. I want him to tell me all his deepest mixing secrets, but he’s like, “Who cares? Do your thing!”

I like that idea a lot. I read another article with you where you mention something along the lines of, “the bolder the color, the bolder stroke, the better… there’s no rule in the book.” Can you talk about how this philosophy informs your approach in the studio?

I’m always game for chance or making decisions based on how I feel, versus what’s technically correct. I try not to overthink things, and I’m not afraid to mess up. I think that’s the foundation of where I sit. Being fearless. I want to turn a head. I want people to hear the music from these bands I’m working with and be like “WHAT is that?!” And I think part of that is making bold sounds and being dangerous. It’s not always easy to do, but that’s what I’m striving for.

What should we be paying attention to that you’ve just finished working on? What are your goals for the year?

Well, my main goal for this year is to get back into the studio after having a baby!

A pretty big deal, haha.

I’ve got a lot of cool projects on the horizon! There’s a really talented woman named Reese McHenry I’ve been working with; her record will be out in April. I’ve also been working with this band called Pie Face Girls for a few years that are getting ready to return to the studio to finish a record. And another band I’m going to be recording in May. I’m really excited about – just stay tuned for that, haha.

I’ve worked with many groups with all guys over the years, and I’m finally working with more and more women, and I love it; it’s a nice change of pace. I love everybody I’ve worked with, and I try not to think about it either way, but I have noticed this year that I’m working with more women in the studio and it’s been a really good corner to turn!

What advice do you have for any new or up-and-coming engineers?

Get out there, play in bands, go to shows, and immerse yourself in your musical community! Collect as much gear as you can. Get inside of getting sounds, being experimental, and not being afraid to mess up. Hit up your friends and start asking to record people. I feel like that’s basic knowledge, but it’s an important reminder!

Connect with Missy:

 

Pitch Perfect

Using Pitch Shifter in Your Mix

If you’re looking to enhance your mix or simply just want to experiment with some effects, pitch shifter is a great place to start. The effect has been used for many years in dance music although it is slowly creeping into some major pop songs as well.

If you’re new to plugins and effects, a pitch shifter simply does what it says on the tin – it will raise or lower the pitch of your audio signal.

So why might this be of interest to your mix or project?

Well, I believe it can be a simple way to add depth and development to any style of music you’re creating.

The first technique is to add a pitch shifter effect under a main vocal. This can be quite effective for a second verse in a song as it allows the track to develop. This can be done by duplicating the vocal and adding the pitch shifter to this track and then adjusting the effect to the setting you prefer.

If you want to add more bass to a track, this is an excellent way of doing just that. By pitch-shifting the vocals down and playing around with the volume and panning, you can get quite a nice bass sound without doing very much at all.

You can also add pitch shifter to your instrument track. This is a great way of experimenting around with your instrument in a mix and who knows you might find the perfect sound that blends well with the music you’re creating!

You can chop and change this effect to benefit your mix in whatever way you find necessary. The great thing about pitch shifter is it is an easy way to change the sound of a track without really putting in much effort. So, if you’re looking for a way to spruce up a mix you have lying about perhaps add in a pitch shifter to a few of the tracks.

 

 

Making a Case For Audio School

Why I Think It’s a Good Idea.

It’s the time of year for application deadlines and acceptance letters. I have noticed a lot of discussions lately about whether it is worthwhile to enroll in school for audio engineering.

Institutionalized education can be a great way for many people to learn and while there are many audio schools to choose from, it can be overwhelming to figure out which one may be right for you. These are my unendorsed opinions on why I think you can benefit from an education in audio engineering.

Schools tend to publish their graduate job percentages as a tool to gain prospective students’ interest.  Follow some easy tips that may help you to look beyond those numbers and find out what a good audio school can really offer you.

Facilities:

A good audio school can help connect students with current and widely used technology. They will offer hands-on training in the most common DAWs (digital audio workstations) and other software, mixing consoles, outboard gear, microphones – you name it. Look for a school that provides use of and education in the most current versions of these tools.

Curriculum:

It could be argued that you can learn the same, if not more, from independent sources than simply from attending post secondary school. If you consider yourself highly motivated there is a plethora of information available online for learning new skills, refresher courses and tools to advance beyond ‘beginner’. However, what a good audio program can provide is a curriculum specifically designed to help you understand both the technical and the professional intricacies of a career in audio.  Some programs may be more specific than others (ie: music production vs. audio post) and If you are unsure of where exactly your interests lie within the audio industry, look for a program that offers a broad curriculum. Gaining knowledge over many subjects will help you find the one that you are most passionate about.

Internships:

Internships are arguably the best way for a less experienced person to find their way into the industry. Most of the time, these internships are unpaid, though recently there has been legislation put in place to oppose unpaid internships. One workaround for businesses to utilize unpaid internships is if they are part of an educational curriculum. Therefore, finding a school that requires an internship as a part of their program may help a student get that foot in the door. Of course, there are some businesses that will offer an internship regardless of education and there are some that will even offer paid internships. Also, a program that requires a co-op or internship will often have aides in place to help support the student, prepare their resumes and even help them find and apply for a work placement so consider that to be a great bonus!

Staff:

The program professors have been selectively picked by the institution for their expertise and experience. Most often, those professors are still active in the industry outside of teaching. Opening a window to the industry is definitely a perk for students in audio school. Your professors will be able to share the most useful information to ensure student success after school. They may also offer connections to their own industry contacts, which can prove to be highly valuable when you are entering the workforce.

Networking:

Apart from your professors, there is another group of people who you will be able to add to your network connections:  your classmates! Making strong connections with your classmates is great while in school, but even more amazing when they become your peers in the industry. There is no telling what benefits will come from these relationships.

Not all schools are created equal. I hope this information gives you the tools to begin your search for the right audio program. There are many resources on the Soundgirls website to help you on this journey as well – whether you decide on institutionalized education or not.

School is not for everyone. Some people are successful at learning on their own, some are not financially able to afford post-secondary education. There are many successful folks in the industry without a degree or diploma in audio. Knowledge is key to working in the industry but so is your drive and attitude. If you want to succeed, be a good person, have a good work ethic and never stop learning

 

Behind the Board

Hey there SoundGirls! This month I chose a topic that I feel is super important to dive into, but before we dig into that let me tell you about the months following. For March, April, and May I’ll be writing about the process of recording a simple four-piece band. Each month I’ll break it down by instrument (March/drums, April/guitars/bass, May/vocals), but we’ll get to that more next month. This month I would like to touch on the importance of being an artist with a knowledge of what’s going on behind the board.

So you love music, you play music, you write music, music is what fuels you. Maybe you’re a tad interested in learning about the audio engineering world- but what are the benefits, you ask? Some positives to having audio engineering skills:

Since I started audio engineering four years ago, I think one of the most valuable things I’ve taken away is networking. I’ve had consistent internships at multiple studios in Austin, and because of that nearly every session I assist on, there is at least one person I have met before, that is playing in the band.

Why is that valuable you say? When an artist sees you multiple times at different studios or the same studio- you might not realize it, but you are building trust with them. Since music is such a personal and sensitive thing, it’s essential for an artist to trust you. If an artist trusts you with their music, their next project might be going to you instead of the person next to you. This is an opportunity to grow as an engineer, as well as build your client list.

As an artist, networking, building friendships, and professional relationships with people in the industry could help you with growing your network with bands you’re meeting in studios. You could become friends, and they may even want to play a show together if they like your music. You never know. Example: My band is very new to the Austin music scene, but for our first show we got to play with two amazing, established bands, at a great venue. I met both of these bands multiple times in and out of recording studios, went to their shows, and became acquaintances with them. It was full circle to share a bill with these bands, four years ago when I assisted on their sessions, who knew we’d be sharing a bill?

So that’s just ONE benefit to being an audio engineer as well as being an artist. I’m going to touch on two more reasons why I think it’s important to dive into audio engineering (even if it’s just a little bit of research or a couple of months of an internship). I’ll pose a question. Is being a jack of all trades a bad thing? I don’t think so; in this day and age- it’s important to be skilled in multiple areas of the industry.

One thing that I think deserves its own paragraph is the importance of being comfortable in a studio. Studios can be intimidating; I know this from my personal experience, (cue, storytime). I remember the first time I ever walked into a recording studio. I was taking a tour of my soon-to-be school for audio engineering and music production in Austin, Texas. I remember seeing all of the gear, and not knowing a single thing. I had never even messed around in GarageBand. I was so intimidated, but also had this hint of excitement the moment I walked into the studio. I was excited to learn; I was excited to be challenged, I was excited to grow, and be an artist that also has valuable knowledge of audio engineering.

Now that it’s been four years, I can speak from experience. Whenever my band is in the studio, or I’m recording vocals for my songs, I’m comfortable. I’m in my element. If you told me four years ago that I wouldn’t be completely nervous singing in a recording studio, I might not have believed you. I couldn’t even sing in front of my friends without turning around! Having that experience in the studio on the other side of the glass gave me confidence in myself, and gave me a sense of purpose. It also gave me a sense of trust in the person who is engineering my vocals, because I know exactly what is going on. I want every other girl/woman that steps into a studio to eventually work their way towards feeling that confidence too, and that’s why I think having audio engineering knowledge is so important.

Last, but not least. The importance of knowing how to record, mix, and master. By having these skills, you are taking the time to learn what is going to be the icing on the cake for your songs. Learning what microphones are going to best capture the way your guitar or vocals sound, and knowing how to mic up a drum kit. Understanding what mixing is, and creating your own mixing style — learning basic mastering skills. All of these things are incredibly beneficial. Not only that, but it’s honestly very exhilarating (and a struggle at times) to work on all aspects of your own music as an artist.

Also, I think I’ve learned more through mixing my own music than I have when mixing others. This might be because of how critical my own mind is towards my work. Not only that, but I believe I have become a better musician from learning audio engineering because my ears are trained, I know what to listen for, and for the simple fact that I am around music all the time. If you’re around something almost every day, you’re going to become good at it. Whether it be, audio engineering, guitar, drums, or singing. You’re going to become better. As an engineer, you will never stop learning. In this craft, you learn something new every time you step foot into a studio. That type of consistency keeps your mind flowing, as well as your creativity. That’s why I believe being an artist as well as having valuable knowledge of engineering is important. Your creativity will never stop.

 

 

Shannon Deane – Post-Production Engineer and Stunt Car Driver

Shannon Deane has been working in post-production sound for over 15 years. Shannon has been working as a freelance engineer for the last ten years, and her specialties are sound design, editing, and mixing for film, TV and new media. She owns, operates and works as creative director and ninja for DeaneCreative.

Shannon attended The University of Texas (UT), graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Radio-TV-Film, with a concentration in audio. While at UT, Shannon’s interest in post-production audio was piqued with an assignment to recreate a scene from a movie using only audio, entirely from scratch/field recordings. “My partner and I chose a prison riot scene from the film Carandiru, based on actual events at the prison in Sâo Paulo, Brazil. Hearing the scene come to life as we added layer after layer of sound was exciting to me. There’s something magical about being able to evoke emotions through sound alone.”

Shannon reflects on this assignment “I wouldn’t say this project single-handedly led me down the sound design rabbit hole, but it does stand out as having had a notable impact on me and my choice to pursue post sound seriously.” But her internship at Emmis Austin Radio would, as it soon led to a job doing sound design/production for a cluster of six commercial radio stations in Austin, TX. “My boss, Jimbo, was a huge inspiration to me – he was a fantastic mentor. He’s an exceptionally talented creative mind who always offered me thoughtful guidance, insight, and encouragement, all with the patience of a saint.”

KaosBriefAnarchy

Shannon has worked on a variety of projects and mixed small gigs with Christopher Walken and Will Ferrell. She has worked on a full season of the Brody Stevens Show for Comedy Central and done sound design for Netflix internal projects, which she found amazing but challenging due to crazy turnarounds! Some of Shannon’s favorite gigs “are actually the smaller ones, where I got to wear many hats. I did full post sound on a feature called The Kaos Brief, which is a supernatural thriller. I got to design “alien” sounds from the ground up, combining a lot of arguably opposing elements to get the effect I wanted. I regularly collaborate with a talented artist/director named Nadav Heyman, whose stories always speak to me in a powerful way. Our styles totally clicked right off the bat, and it’s a joy to work with another artist that you’re so in tune with creatively.”

Shannon is also a touring, recording musician playing guitar and bass, production sound mixer, and she spent seven years as a music instructor.  She also had a brief detour working a stunt driver. Yes, you heard that correctly a stunt driver.  Shannon explains how she stumbled into this “I was chatting with a college friend years ago at a party, whom I didn’t realize had become a stunt coordinator. When he discovered I had a background in martial arts, roller derby, bike racing, etc., he asked: “why aren’t YOU doing stunts?” I paused for a second, laughed, and said: “I don’t know.” He hooked me up with local stunt guru Richard Hancock, and I ended up training with him and getting little movie parts here and there for about three years until I moved to LA. My favorite gig was doubling a lead actress in a car chase scene, in which I spent nine hours power sliding around corners and smashing into another car. The other car caught fire at the end of the day (not planned).”

What do you like best about post sound?

I love that every day is different, every project is different, and I get to be creative with basically everything I put my hands on.  Picture is obviously essential, but if the sound is no good, then, well…bad sound can ruin a film or show. Mediocre sound is almost as bad – the image will never live up to its full potential. As a sound designer, I have to be sensitive to the needs of the project. What’s the best choice for x or y project? The answer is whatever helps tell the story the best – whatever drives the story, compliments it and makes it as compelling as it can possibly be.  I have to be objective and subjective at the same time – as an artist, you have your own ideas about what might sound cool, and you can get attached to specific ideas, but you have to be objective enough not to get married to something if it just isn’t working. Filmmaking is a collaborative endeavor, and I like the process of balancing my own creativity with that of the editor, director, writer, etc. I’m always striving to compliment the stories and images in ways that are unique or exciting. I may not achieve that to my satisfaction with every project, but I sure get a lot of opportunities to do so, and sometimes I feel like I succeed. That’s extremely rewarding.

What is your favorite day off activity?

I race motorcycles, so you can usually find me on a motorcycle of some sort. Or a bicycle. I also train Muay Thai and Gracie Jui-Jitsu.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

The sheer volume of talented folks in this industry, especially here in Los Angeles, means you have to work really hard to stand out and keep work coming in, especially as a freelancer. You have to be driven, passionate, and extremely persistent. I’m still a tiny fish in this big pond, but I feel fortunate to have built a solid client list of talented folks, and it just keeps growing and growing.

How have you dealt with them?

Perseverance. Never give up. It’s been challenging at times, but I buckled down and kept driving forward, and I’ve found that the reward has been great as a result.

Advice you have for other women and young women who wish to enter the field?

If you’re truly interested in and/or passionate about a career in audio, don’t let anyone or anything stop you. It’s a male-dominated field, but who cares? I don’t let that intimidate me, and neither should any other female. Gender doesn’t matter. I’m in this because I love it, and that’s all that matters. So stay focused on what you want and never lose sight of your goal.

Also, don’t feel like you have to do it alone. Seek out mentors, don’t be afraid to ask questions, be humble and be a kind human. Also, don’t be scared to make mistakes and don’t be afraid to fail. It’s often out of the failures and mistakes that we learn and grow the most. Cheesy? Maybe. But it’s true.

Must have skills?

Know your gear! For me, that means Pro Tools, synths, MIDI controllers, plugins, and production sound gear for gathering original sounds. Take the time to learn as much as you can about the tools of your trade. Once you’ve gained a decent level of technical proficiency, you can get right to the (arguably more fun) business of being creative with your sound.

Favorite gear?

I’m biased, but my Manley Ref C and VOXBOX are staples in my studio. I record 99% of my VO through them and even do a lot of Foley with them as well. Output’s Arcade is a really rad tool for sound design. It’s easy to use, and highly customizable. You can drop in your own loops and manipulate them on the fly. (Full disclosure – I create content for Output). I’m a huge fan of Native Instruments stuff, as well as Soundtoys plugins. Izotope, Altiverb. I love my Grace Designs m906 monitor controller, and my Universal Audio Apollo for ease of use and sound, especially for the price point.

What are your long-term goals?

To be as good as I possibly can at what I do. To tell stories that matter. To represent the under-represented whenever possible. I’d like to be able to collaborate with as many talented people as possible with the time I have, and hopefully, leave behind some art that really matters for generations to follow.

Shannon’s Studio

 

 

Lost in Translation

Should we be mixing with lo-fi portable devices in mind?

Some say “a great mix is a great mix”, and they’re not wrong. However the question remains a constant source of discussion, amusement and point of frustration between friends and internet strangers alike – should we be mixing with lo-fi portable devices in mind?

It seems a 21st Century problem that isn’t going away anytime soon; we have our portable devices on hand with a connected convenience between us that means we can listen to our peers’ newest song or latest mix in seconds. Is it any wonder that we surreptitiously count the “real” ceremonial listening sessions as drastically less frequent events compared with our habits of multitasking and listening on the go?

Considering most listeners and consumers listen to music on portable devices and speakers the majority of the time, should it at least be considered as a factor when mixing? Perhaps the better question is can we maneuver this current technological phase by using our phones as a reference point for how the mix translates on small mono speakers, helping us to reach that holy grail of a great mix in all forms.

Our phones are limited in their frequency range, with most having a distinct lack of highs and lows. We lose most of what’s going on below approximately 500 Hz and above 6 kHz in translation. To use our phones as our small mono reference speaker means balancing in ways that enhance the absent lows and highs with our busy mids, but that does not then overpower on better speakers.

One of the most universally agreed methods, to begin with, is the appropriate use of harmonic distortion, utilising the full range of naturally occurring harmonics, notably of the kick drum and bass which are often the first casualties of the mix. On the flip side of this, keeping the upper end in check from overcrowding of high frequencies from other instruments sitting in that upper range provides a much clearer and more even spread.

While mixing in mono is preferential to some, checking mono compatibility is a must. Phasing issues between left and right can mean even more loss of sound in a mix, so getting width and balance in mono is good practice. Checking compatibility audibly by doing an A/B of mono versus stereo via the DAW output is one relatively painless way, and there are several visual tools available on the market that can analyse the signal for us, helping to spot anything our ears may miss.

Without diving down the rabbit hole that is ‘compression,’ it is worth remembering the brief philosophy of “less is more,” which is possibly truer here than for any other technique or effect! Running the mix through a high pass filter from the low midrange is also regarded as a useful check for clarity in the mix, and can only help when taking into account the issues of translation. While these points are by no means extensive, they can go some way to helping our mixes sound better, and easily alleviate some of the loss encountered on most lo-fi devices.

While there have always been lo-fi speakers in days gone by, it does seem to have become more of an everyday consideration with modern solutions available – mastering software such as iZotope Ozone now incorporate a phone speaker pre-set on their output referencing features. Though the convenience of listening on our devices hasn’t run its course just yet, it doesn’t have to be a source of struggle and deliberation in the mixing and mastering process

 

Berenice Hardiman FOH Engineer/ Tour Manager

Berenice Hardiman is a veteran of the industry having first been inspired after seeing Pink Floyd at the Liverpool Empire, which was her very first concert.  “I immediately knew that I wanted to be part of whatever that “thing” was that I had just witnessed, but of course I had no idea how to even start. I ended up doing computing at University in the late 70s, which of course, ironically, has actually ended up being very useful. I’d always gone to loads of gigs all over the world, and as I reached my late 20’s, I decided that if I was ever going to make the leap into the music industry, time was ticking away.”  So taking a huge risk, Berenice decided to sell her house and buy a PA system with her partner Dave Claxton. From there they proceeded to mostly teach themselves. “We got books from the library and talked to anyone who would spare us 10 minutes. I’d been hanging around the periphery of the music industry for years so I had some useful contacts to press into service. Luckily, it transpired that I was able to achieve a good FOH sound and Dave took to doing monitors. We worked out very quickly that buying a monitor desk would give us the edge over other local PA companies.”

“We built up the company over the next ten years or so covering tens of thousands of miles, first in a Ford Transit and then building up to a 7.5 tonner (truck), doing the sort of gigs where you learn your trade and people generally seemed to like what we did. By the early 2000’s it had become obvious that in order to continue expanding would involve massive capital commitment, and by that point work with our main client, Midge Ure, had reached the point where really we didn’t have time for any other shows, so we took the decision to sell off most of the gear while it was still worth something, and put on our white gloves.”

Currently, along with being FOH Engineer and Tour Manager for Midge Ure, Berenice also handles most of Midge’s bookings, does contracts, invoices, designs his merchandise, runs Midge Ure’s webshop and website and whatever else needs to be done.  “We started off providing the system; then he asked me to do FOH and TM as he liked what he’d heard me do for the support act on the previous tour. We carried on like that for a while until 1998 when I told him that he really should have his own website and online store as I felt that was the way to go. Somehow it ended up falling on my desk! Merch design followed on from that in an obvious sort of way. Then he left his manager of 25 years, and I decided it was time to stop being a hire company as it would have needed massive financial investment to continue, so it made sense for me to take over booking the shows. After all, we had been doing his shows for over ten years by that point so knew all the venues

The Show Must Go On!

As anyone who has been on tour knows, things are not always what they should be, and some gigs and productions leave a lot to be desired.  The lack of attention to detail by some service providers/promoters is one of the things Berenice hates about touring. “We had a fairly prestigious festival show recently that descended into a total nightmare for me. The in-ears hadn’t been set up prior to our arrival, one of the keyboards didn’t have a power supply, the drum riser was the wrong size, half the rider was missing, and if that wasn’t enough I discovered the mix position was on a gantry in the roof of a round metal building. I literally couldn’t hear a THING I was doing. I also couldn’t get down to hear what it sounded like where the audience was.”

Clearly, Berenice has a history of doing whatever it takes and keeping a positive attitude, which are key to being successful. “Obviously we have done loads of gigs where it’s gone horribly wrong for whatever reason, but we’ve always managed to scrape by somehow! That’s what it’s all about though, making the best of things and getting the show done. Once, there was the time when the truck windshield wiper motor went on our way to a show in mid-Wales, some 4-hour drive away, and the only solution was to rig up some bits of wire and pliers so we could move them manually every now and again… we made the gig though!”

“Once, I nearly got stabbed when somebody pulled a knife on me at a show a long time ago when the only way to avoid our desk being stolen by a rioting crowd was to lie across it! We were doing a Soca band in a drinking club in Southall called the Tudor Rose. What we didn’t know was that there was a big boxing match being shown in the venue after the band and I suddenly became aware we were somewhat outnumbered! Not only outnumbered, but by people who REALLY wanted a load of audio gear!! They didn’t get it though.”

When asked what Berenice likes most about her job,  “Nothing beats standing behind the desk with a great PA and making it sound fantastic!”

Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato and Berenice Hardiman at Rock Of Ages Festival in Rottenburg, Germany

What advice would you give young women wanting to enter the field of live sound or professional audio?

“Be very sure it’s what you want! Home life is bound to suffer. I’m lucky that I work with my other half because otherwise, we would never see each other. We worked every New Year’s Eve for about 15 years! The downside is that we never really switch off from “work” which is ok for us because we love what we do.”

As it is with most veteran live sound engineers, when Berenice started her mixing career, consoles were of the analogue format.   If you understood signal flow, you could walk up to any analog desk and familiarize yourself with it rather quickly- a luxury that no longer exists in the current digital age. Coming from a computer background, Berenice made the transition from analogue to digital consoles fairly easily.  “ My only issue still is that at the back of my mind I know that if an analogue board goes down, you can generally row to shore somehow, but the same is simply just not the case when you go digital. Having said that, there are so few old boards out there that work flawlessly now that it’s a small price to pay for being able to just simply load your show, and off you go with a few tweaks!”

The vast array of digital platforms and the complete lack of uniformity among them can be intimidating if not overwhelming to a less experienced engineer.  Berenice’s suggestion for learning different consoles- “RTFM!!! and then install the offline editor and play with it… YouTube is a very useful resource.”

What is your favorite gear?

“I’m a big L’Acoustics fan! And I don’t like to go anywhere without a trusty TC Electronics D2 with a footswitch. I’m not really into carrying racks of valve compressors etc.”

What’s in your tool bag?

“Now? A bag full of XLR/jack converters, my headphones, a footswitch, and some lucky Chinese money a fan gave me in 2009!”

What do you feel is the biggest mistake you made throughout your career? What did it teach you?

“I once tried to fix a power amp during soundcheck and forgot to unplug it first! It taught me not to panic because things get forgotten!”

What would you say are some ‘must have’ skills?

“Calm, methodical thinking in a crisis, and keep your eyes and ears open all the time.”

“Being able to cope with very little sleep and crap food also helps!”

“As far as audio engineering goes, a very wise man once described a very well respected engineer to me… he’s a really great engineer, there’s nothing between his ears and his fingertips, and I think that’s still a very sage opinion. In my opinion, there are far too many engineers out there who overanalyze stuff rather than just feeling the sound.”

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